US expected to unveil criminal charges against Cuba's Raul Castro

Around 20 May 2026, a US grand jury indicted Raúl Castro, Cuba's former president, aged 94, on murder charges over the 1996 downing of two planes. TASS reported the charges as murder and destruction of aircraft, and El País tied the case to the Brothers to the Rescue aircraft. El País named Jason Reding Quiñones, a federal prosecutor in Miami, as behind the charges.

Cuba's president said the US charges have no legal basis. The Guardian described the indictment as part of a US effort to oust the Cuban government, and Reuters said it escalates pressure on Cuba. Separately, Reuters reported that the US offered Cuba a new relationship in a message from Rubio, and the BBC reported that flight tracking showed a US surveillance aircraft near the island.